My photographic adventures on the other side of the world

August 8, 2018

Going the extra mile

During our wanderings through Mundaka we chanced upon a tourist information centre and decided to head in to firm up our plans for the remainder of the day. Our first option was to hit one of the local hiking trails and enjoy some great views over the ocean and conservation area. The other interesting alternative was to journey on further around the coast to visit the famous landmark San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, a small hermitage on an islet connected to the mainland with a man-made bridge. The lovely information centre staffer helped us to figure out how to get there and back with public transport, all the while putting up with my extremely broken Spanish and put together a very good sales pitch. And so with our minds made up we started off on our second adventure of the day. At the train station we met up with a very friendly security guard, who gave us even more local tips (we will definitely have to go back soon!) and then jumped on a train to Bermeo.

In Bermeo we had around a thirty minute wait for the bus, so we headed into the town and explored as much as we could in the limited time available to us. Our first impressions of Bermeo were of a colourful harbour and the winding streets of the old town. It certainly seems a very interesting place to visit and spend a day, which is exactly what we will do next time we come through. After our lightning visit we were back on our way again, this time with a public bus, which provided us with quite the grand tour of the coast. After a good 20 minutes of impressive views we were dropped off in a public carpark, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. After a bit of random wandering we picked up the trail and were on our way to the islet hermitage. I started making photos when we reached the first lookout and didn’t stop until we were well on our way back to Bilbao. Instead of trying to describe the amazing experience that we had, I will let the photographs speak for themselves.

The views on the approach:

The climb was a little intimidating on a hot afternoon:

The views from the top were breathtaking, though:

The snaking walkway provided an interesting photo opportunity:

The beautiful coastline. First a scouting shot and then a long exposure after refining the composition:

The bus ride back to Bilbao was a long one, bordering on two hours, but both Kathrin and I were so infused with energy after the amazing day of exploration that we had that nothing could bring us down. Dinner and then midnight cocktails on the roof of the hotel capped off a day that we won’t forget in a long time. Perhaps it was simply the fact that we started the day without expectations, or maybe it was just being out in nature that we so enjoyed. Either way, we know now that our forthcoming travel will primarily involve visits to nature, rather than the ubiquitous cities that tend to draw us with their ease of access and multitude of attractions.